Atlanta is the capital and largest city in the state of Georgia. It ranks as the 36th-most populous city in the United States, and the eighth-most populous in the southeastern region. 2020 census results varied dramatically with previous Census Bureau estimates, counting a record 498,715 residents. Atlanta is the core city of the eighth most populous United States metropolitan area at 6,104,803 (est. 2020), with a combined statistical area of 6,930,423. For the first time since the 1960 Census, the 2020 Census revealed Atlanta is no longer majority African American. Atlanta has strongly increased in diversity in recent decades and is projected to continue.

City of Atlanta History Atlanta's population grew steadily during the first 100 years of the city's existence, and peaked in 1970 at around 496,000. However, from 1970 to 2000, the city lost over 100,000 residents, a decrease of around 16 percent. During the same time, the metro area gained over three million people, cutting the city's share of the metro population in half, from over 25 percent in 1970 to around 12 percent in 2000. However, the city's population bottomed out in 1990 at around 394,000, and it has been increasing every year since then, reaching 420,003 residents in 2010. The population count increased more in the 2020 census to 498,715, surpassing the 1970 population.

Historical populationsCensus City Region1850 2,572 N/A18609,554 N/A187021,789 N/A188037,409 N/A189065,533 N/A190089,872 419,3751910154,839 522,4421920200,616 622,2831930270,366 715,3911940302,288 820,5791950331,314997,6661960487,455 1,312,474 1970 496,973 1,763,6261980425,022 2,233,3241990394,017 2,959,950 2000416,474 4,112,1982010420,003 5,268,8602020498,715 6,089,815 *EstimatesRegion: Combined Statistical Area (CSA)

Racial and ethnic composition +Atlanta city, Georgia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)135,735119,266130,222152,377192,14831.94%30.27%31.27%36.28%38.53%Black or African American alone (NH)280,608263,107254,062224,316233,01866.02%66.78%61.00%53.41%46.72%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)6005115947547670.14%0.13%0.14%0.18%0.15%Asian alone (NH)1,9323,4257,94913,09822,2080.45%0.87%1.91%3.12%4.45%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census131115171xx0.03%0.03%0.03%Other race alone (NH)3971836307392,4930.09%0.05%0.15%0.18%0.50%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census4,1666,78917,922xx1.00%1.62%3.59%Hispanic or Latino (any race)5,7507,52518,72021,81529,9881.35%1.91%4.49%5.19%6.01%Total425,022394,017416,474420,003498,715 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

Once the nation's fourth largest black-majority city, Atlanta fell below 50% non-Hispanic African American in the 2020 census. The non-Hispanic African-American population has the largest percentage decline in the city since the 2000 census.*"A CHAMPION FOR ATLANTA: Maynard Jackson: 'Black mecca' burgeoned under leader", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 29, 2003 "the city that calls itself America's ' Black Mecca'" in "Atlanta Is Less Than Festive on Eve of Another 'Freaknik'", Washington Post, Apr 18, 1996 "The Black Mecca leads the nation in numbers of African American millionaires; at the same time, it leads the nation in the percentage of its children in poverty" in The Black metropolis in the twenty-first century: race, power, and politics by Robert Doyle Bullard "the city that earned a national reputation as America's 'black mecca'" in In search of Black America: discovering the African-American dream by David J. Dent "the cornerstone upon which today's 'Black Mecca' was built" in The New South's Capital Likes to Contradict Itself by William Jelani Cobb, July 13, 2008, Washington Post "And, they said, don't forget Atlanta's reputation as a black mecca" in "Georgia second in nation for black-owned businesses", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 5, 2010 "Atlanta is New Mecca for Blacks", Ebony, September 1997 "Atlanta's allure as the black mecca" in "Atlanta contest shows battered black electorate", MSNBC, December 4, 2009 " the Southern capital regarded as the nation's black mecca" in "Race, attacks expected in Atlanta mayor runoff" (Associated Press article) in Marietta Daily Journal, November 5, 2009 "Is Atlanta the new black mecca?", Ebony, March 2002 "Atlanta, black mecca of the South", Ebony, August 1971 "Money talks: Atlanta has the highest percentage of middle-class blacks of any city in the nation", Atlanta magazine, March 2003 “Atlanta is a city that is known as the black mecca" in "Upcoming city elections will show how Atlanta is undergoing profound changes", Saporta Report, October 2009 "Some people call Atlanta the Black Mecca" in "Atlanta: The City of the Next Generation", Black Enterprise, May 1987 "That stockpile of black brain power has made Atlanta the nation's mecca for blacks, especially buppies looking for Afro-American affluence and political clout." in "Bond vs. Lewis - it's Atlanta's loss that only one of the two can win ", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 16, 1986 "Is it this that has made Atlanta the mecca of the black middle class?" in America behind the color line: dialogues with African Americans by Henry Louis Gates "Atlanta emerges as a center of black entertainment", New York Times, November 26, 2011 The strongest growth of African Americans in the Atlanta area is in the surrounding suburbs. In 2020, at least 87% of the African American population in the Atlanta area lived outside the city.

The non-Hispanic White alone population of the city of Atlanta has grown significantly since 2000. Between 2000 and 2020, Atlanta's non-Hispanic White population had increased by 61,296 people while the black population declined by 21,044. The non-Hispanic White percentage increased from 31.3% in 2000, to 36.3% in 2010, to 38.5% in 2020. Since 2000, Atlanta demographics have drastically changed due to an influx of Whites into gentrifying intown neighborhoods, such as East Atlanta and the Old Fourth Ward, coupled with a stronger movement of blacks into surrounding suburbs, especially in Clayton County and DeKalb County, an influx of Asians and Hispanics moving into the city, combined with increased identification as mixed race and more children born in interracial marriages.

The city of Atlanta is becoming more diverse in the 21st century. The city long consisted overwhelmingly of non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic Whites; those groups made up 92.1% of the city in 1990, but by 2020 their proportion had shrunk to 85.3%. Atlanta's Hispanic population increased 11,268 from 2000 to 2020, and in 2020 the city was 6.0% Hispanic. The Asian American population increased by 14,259 and in 2020 Asian Americans made up 4.5% of the city.

Income In 2022, the median income for a household in Atlanta was $77,655. Also in 2022, 17.7% of the population lived below the poverty line which is down from 21.8% in 2010. Since 2000, poverty in most of Atlanta's suburbs is growing faster than in the city.

Sexual orientation and marital status The city of Atlanta has one of the highest LGBT populations per capita in the nation. It ranked third of all major cities, behind San Francisco and slightly behind Seattle, with 12.8% of the city's total population recognizing themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.Gary J. Gates  . The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA School of Law October, 2006

According to a 2024 Chamber of Commerce report, Atlanta is fourth in the nation for single-person households (44.5%). Within the past 10 years, the number of people living alone has increased by almost 5 million. Nearly half of those single-person households manifested during the pandemic. Compared to pre-pandemic (2019) rates, 2.4 million more people are living alone in 2024. Atlanta ranked 3rd in the nation for the most women living alone (29%) and 10th for men (24%).

Born out-of-state and foreign-born In the city of Atlanta, Ga. 53% of residents were born in Georgia, 19.1% elsewhere in the South, 18.6% outside the South and 8.0% in a foreign country. Although the foreign-born population in the city itself is low among large US cities and even compared to Atlanta's own metro area, it is high compared to other nearby Southern cities. For example, in Macon, Georgia, 7.1% were US-born outside the South and 3.0% foreign-born, and in Birmingham, Alabama only 7.7% were US-born outside the South and 3.2% foreign-born.

Homelessness According to a 2024 report, an estimated 3,000 people are dealing with chronic homelessness in Atlanta. Of that 3,000, about 1,000 do not stay in homeless shelters. Around 75% of the homeless population in the city are men and 86% self-identify as African American.

By county Circa 2024, of the Atlanta residents, 491,711 of them lived in Fulton County and 28,292 of them lived in DeKalb County.

Race and ethnicity by neighborhood

2010 census figures for Atlanta's 25 neighborhood planning units reveal several key facts about Atlanta's neighborhoods: 60% of the city's area consists of predominantly black neighborhoods: together, Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast Atlanta are 92% black there are some areas that are predominantly white, notably Buckhead and Northeast Atlanta (NPUs F and N) which are on average 80% white most of the fastest growing areas are central: Downtown (25.9%), Midtown, West Midtown, close-in east side neighborhoods (NPU N) (18.4%) the Ben Hill area at the southwest Perimeter is also growing quickly (up 5,452 people, 45.8%) population loss in areas of Northwest Atlanta (avg. -24.1%) and Southeast Atlanta (-20.5%), as well as some parts of Southwest Atlanta

Source: ] Note: racial and ethnic groups are listed in the order established by the national census, not by their ranking within Atlanta